Hana stood motionless, leaning against the door after the man had left. The words "Jin Woo has made his move" echoed in her mind. She had been expecting this moment for so long, preparing for the inevitable confrontation with the man who had brought so much destruction to her world. But now, with the weight of Kaito’s and Daeyoung’s deaths heavy on her conscience, she felt hollow, drained.
The Soul Ledger felt heavier than ever in her hands, almost as though it were alive, feeding off the deaths it had caused. She held it tightly, her knuckles white, before pushing herself off the door and walking toward the mirror in the corner of the room.
Staring at her reflection, Hana barely recognized the woman who looked back at her. Dark circles hung under her eyes, and her face was gaunt, her once bright eyes now dimmed by grief, guilt, and exhaustion. Her fingers trembled as they traced the edge of the Soul Ledger’s cover.
She could still hear Kaito’s voice, calm and steady, trying to reason with her. *"You always have a choice."* And Daeyoung’s panicked cries as he realized what she was about to do. *"This isn’t justice, Hana! This is murder!"*
A lump formed in her throat. They were right. They had always been right. She didn’t have to walk this path, didn’t have to give in to the darkness of the Ledger’s power. But she had, and now… there was no one left to stop her.
No one left to question her.
“I’m a monster,” she whispered to herself, her voice barely audible. Her reflection seemed to agree.
A knock interrupted her thoughts. This time, she moved toward the door without hesitation. She couldn’t afford to dwell on her mistakes any longer. Jin Woo was out there, and he needed to be stopped.
She opened the door to find one of her subordinates standing there, his face tense with urgency. "Hana, you’re needed in the operations room. Jin Woo’s agents are making moves across the city."
She nodded, her expression cold and unreadable. "I’ll be right there." Without waiting for a response, she walked past him, her mind already shifting to the next battle. The guilt, the pain—it would have to wait. For now, there were more immediate threats to deal with.
As she moved through the hallways, her mind wandered to Jin Woo. The man who had orchestrated this entire nightmare, manipulating people like puppets, playing his twisted game while the world around them crumbled. She had always wondered what his endgame was, what drove him to cause so much chaos. But now, she didn’t care about understanding him. He was the final obstacle. The final name that needed to be written in the Soul Ledger.
But was she ready for that? Was she ready to take one more life?
She clenched her fists as she stepped into the operations room, where several of her remaining team members were huddled around a large table covered in maps and documents. They looked up as she entered, their faces a mixture of relief and anxiety.
"Good, you’re here," said Jisoo, one of the most experienced members of the group. Her dark hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail, and her sharp eyes focused on Hana with a grim determination. "We’ve tracked Jin Woo’s forces to three key locations in the city. He’s moving quickly. If we don’t act soon, we’ll lose any advantage we have."
Hana approached the table, her gaze sweeping over the maps. "What’s his objective?" she asked, her voice calm despite the tension in the room.
Jisoo pointed to a location circled in red. "We think he’s targeting the government building. It’s a high-value target, and if he takes control of it, we’ll lose the ability to track him. From there, he could operate in the shadows indefinitely."
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"Or worse," added another member of the team, a young man named Minho. "He could take control of the entire city’s communications system. He could spread more chaos, more disinformation. We’d be fighting blind."
Hana nodded slowly, processing the information. "We can’t let that happen. We hit him before he has a chance to secure the building. Is our team ready?"
Jisoo hesitated for a moment before answering. "We’re ready, but…" She glanced at the others in the room before continuing. "With Kaito and Daeyoung gone, our morale is low. People are scared. They’re looking to you for guidance."
The mention of Kaito and Daeyoung sent a jolt of pain through Hana’s chest, but she kept her expression neutral. "They died for this mission. We can’t let their sacrifices be in vain."
Jisoo nodded, though her eyes flickered with unease. "What’s the plan, then?"
Hana straightened, her mind racing. She couldn’t afford to make any mistakes now. This was it—the final battle. "We split into three teams. Jisoo, you’ll take the north approach. Minho, you and your team will handle the west side. I’ll lead the direct assault from the south."
"And Jin Woo?" Minho asked, his voice laced with uncertainty. "Do you really think you can take him down?"
Hana’s gaze hardened. "I don’t think. I know." She reached into her coat, pulling out the Soul Ledger and placing it on the table. The sight of it drew murmurs from the group—some in awe, others in fear.
Jisoo frowned. "Are you really going to use that again?"
Hana met her gaze, her expression unreadable. "I don’t have a choice."
Jisoo opened her mouth to argue, but stopped herself. Instead, she glanced down at the Ledger, the tension in the room thickening as they all understood what that meant.
"Fine," Jisoo said quietly. "But just remember… every time you use that thing, you lose a part of yourself."
Hana didn’t respond. She didn’t need to. She already knew that truth better than anyone.
As the teams prepared for the assault, Hana stood in the corner of the room, her hand resting on the Soul Ledger. She could feel its power, its dark allure. She had used it so many times now that it almost felt like an extension of her own will, like it had become a part of her.
But that wasn’t the only thing she felt. There was something else, something deeper—a darkness that had been growing inside her since the first time she wrote a name in the Ledger. It was subtle, almost imperceptible at first, but now… now it was like a constant presence, whispering to her, urging her to continue, to write more names.
To end it all.
As they set out to confront Jin Woo, the streets were eerily quiet. The city, usually alive with the hum of cars and people, now felt like a ghost town. Hana led her team through the deserted streets, her eyes sharp, scanning for any sign of Jin Woo’s forces. Every step felt heavy, her mind replaying the events of the past few days—Kaito’s betrayal, Daeyoung’s death, and now, this final confrontation.
They reached the outskirts of the government building, and Hana signaled for her team to halt. She crouched behind a crumbling wall, her breath steady but her heart pounding. This was it. The moment she had been preparing for.
"Do you see anything?" Minho whispered, peering over the edge of the wall.
Hana shook her head, her eyes narrowing. "No. But he’s here. I can feel it."
Minho gave her a skeptical look, but said nothing.
As they moved closer to the building, a figure emerged from the shadows. Tall, imposing, and dressed in a dark coat, his face hidden beneath the brim of a wide hat. Hana’s blood ran cold as she recognized him instantly.
"Jin Woo," she whispered.
He stepped forward, a cruel smile playing on his lips. "So, you’ve come, Hana. I wondered when you’d finally show your face."
Hana straightened, her hand instinctively moving to the Soul Ledger at her side. "It’s over, Jin Woo. You’re not going to get away with this."
Jin Woo chuckled softly, his eyes gleaming in the dim light. "Over? Oh, Hana… this is just the beginning."
Before she could react, Jin Woo raised his hand, and the sound of gunfire erupted from all sides. Hana and her team dove for cover as bullets ricocheted off the walls around them.
"Take him down!" Hana shouted, her voice cutting through the chaos.
Her team responded immediately, returning fire, but Jin Woo was already moving, his figure disappearing into the darkness.
Hana’s heart raced as she watched her team engage with Jin Woo’s forces. The air was thick with tension and gunpowder, and for a moment, she felt the familiar pull of the Soul Ledger, whispering to her.
*Write his name.*
She hesitated, her fingers hovering over the Ledger.
*Write it. End this.*
But something inside her resisted. This wasn’t how it was supposed to end. She couldn’t just rely on the Ledger, couldn’t keep sacrificing her soul for the sake of survival.
No, this time she had to face Jin Woo on her own terms.
With a surge of determination, Hana pushed the Ledger aside and charged into the fray, her mind focused on one goal: ending Jin Woo’s reign of terror once and for all.